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Prado honored as NL Player of the Week

Prado honored as NL Player of the Week

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By Mark Bowman
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MLB.com |

CHICAGO -- At this time last week, Martin Prado was simply fighting to gain more playing time with the Braves. Seven days later, he finds himself as an everyday second baseman and the National League's Player of the Week.

Major League Baseball announced Monday afternoon that Prado had been selected as the latest recipient of the NL Player of the Week award presented by Bank of America. The Braves second baseman led the league with 15 hits and a 1.000 slugging percentage.

"It's one of those wild weeks that I'll never forget," said Prado, who hit .577 (15-for-26) with a .621 on-base percentage during last week's six-game span.

After his first four-hit performance of the week on Tuesday night against the Phillies, Prado learned that he'd earned the opportunity to serve as the Braves' everyday second baseman. The 25-year-old Venezuelan infielder had been platooning with Kelly Johnson.

"This is something you don't ever expect to win when you've got guys like Albert Pujols and Hanley Ramirez out there," Prado said. "To be recognized like this, you know that you must have done something good."

While hitting .619 last week, Braves outfielder Matt Diaz was also among the NL players nominated for this week's award.